AM Investment Strategies LLC Grows Holdings in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Amgen were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMGN. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amgen in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMGN shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $329.00 price objective on shares of Amgen in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Amgen from $370.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Amgen in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Amgen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Amgen from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amgen has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.95.

Amgen Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMGN traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $269.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,792,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,827,451. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.38 and a 200-day moving average of $281.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.14. Amgen Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.71 and a 12-month high of $329.72.

Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. Amgen had a net margin of 23.83% and a return on equity of 154.27%. The company’s revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amgen Inc. will post 19.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Amgen Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $2.25 per share. This represents a $9.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Amgen’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.06%.

About Amgen

Amgen Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company's principal products include Enbrel to treat plaque psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis; Otezla for the treatment of adult patients with plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and oral ulcers associated with Behçet's disease; Prolia to treat postmenopausal women with osteoporosis; XGEVA for skeletal-related events prevention; Repatha, which reduces the risks of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary revascularization; Nplate for the treatment of patients with immune thrombocytopenia; KYPROLIS to treat patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; Aranesp to treat a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells and anemia; EVENITY for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal for men and women; Vectibix to treat patients with wild-type RAS metastatic colorectal cancer; BLINCYTO for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; TEPEZZA to treat thyroid eye disease; and KRYSTEXXA for the treatment of chronic refractory gout.